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When “Illusory Delights” Call Your Name

comfort love needs pleasures rights temptation Nov 30, 2025

Sometimes we just want a little satisfaction, don’t we? A touch of comfort, something that takes the edge off, a moment where we feel filled. But, the real question is: what actually meets us at the deeper level?

Paul hints at this in his letter to the Corinthians:

“You say, ‘I have the right to do anything,’ but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.” (1 Corinthians 10:23–24)

There’s an even higher call woven through Scripture: to seek God’s will and pursue it with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.

And yet, we’re often tempted to meet our own needs first—and fast. We lean on our own strategies, or we look to others to fill the gaps. At first, that urge can feel almost noble or necessary. But Ignatius of Loyola, writing in the 15th century, named these moments for what they are: “illusory delights.”

They’re the offerings that shimmer just enough to catch...

When “Illusory Delights” Call Your Name

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